KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysia's Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin will launch a new campaign to battle the Covid-19 pandemic on Friday (Aug 7), the Bernama news agency reported.

The campaign, themed Embracing New Norms, is targeted towards raising awareness on the novel coronavirus, and empowering the people to protect themselves, the community, and to help the frontliners in the fight against the pandemic, Communications and Multimedia Minister Saifuddin Abdullah was reported by the Bernama news agency as saying.

He said although Malaysia was among the more successful countries in taming the virus, infection rate could still go up if the people did not adapt to the post-Covid new normal.

"This is not just about complying with laws and regulations. It is a matter of understanding and embracing it for the common good of all. The frontliners have fought hard. Now it is our turn to help them... we take care of each other," he added.

Datuk Saifuddin cited the example of a mosque congregation in which worshippers wore a face mask, used their own prayer mat and observed physical distancing but ignored such safety protocols once they stepped out of the mosque.

He said the new campaign to be launched today would be carried out until the end of the year through various platforms including traditional and social media, as well as billboards, roadshows, religious programmes, posters and banners.

He urged the agencies involved and community leaders to be more creative in getting Covid-19 messages across effectively to make the campaign a success.